Saturday, 17 January 2015

Tried & Tested : Illamasqua Multi Facet Palette : Semblance

Today I’ve got one of Illamasqua’s palettes
to review. The one featured here is
called Semblance; I also purchased the Aura palette so a review will follow for that one as well. I actually got both of these before Christmas, but took some time off for the holidays and while work was busy at the end-of-year review preparation front. But I'm back so let's get straight back into it!

Each of these palettes features eight colour cosmetics;
both include four eyeshadows, a cream highlight shade and a powder blush, as
well as cult favourite cream contouring shade in Hollow and brow cake in the
shade Thunder. The four shadows included in the Semblance palette are: Obsidian (a deep, matte black), Dizzy (a mauvey, matte
greyedpink-purple), Tango (a reddened brown with a satin-frost finish) and Slink (a frosty
champagne). The highlighter included is Mirage (a medium bronze with fine shimmer) and the blush is Hussy (a bubblegum pink):

I must admit, I really really like this palette. Although not marketed as such, because of the
products included in both this and the Aura palette, it seemed to me that this
one was more geared toward those with medium to darker skintones – this idea
came in large part by the Highlight shade included, as it’s far too dark for me
to use as an outright highlight. So at
first I was a bit unsure as to whether I should order it or not, but ultimately
decided to take the plunge. And you know
what? I’m really glad I did.

The blush is a standout shade to me, very pigmented but wearable at the same time when used with a soft brush. I also really love the eyeshadows that came in this
palette - I like wearing the mauvey pink-purple all
over the lid and use the frosty cranberry shade to define the crease before
using the matte black to line the upper and lower lashline. Sidenote: the included brush is really
perfect for applying eyeshadow as eyeliner, it’s just firm enough and slim
enough to be very precise in its application. As well as included brush, the lid contains a very large mirror - so be careful if packing this in your handbag, but I find the mirror incredibly handy.

The only shade I’m not sure I’ll get much/any use out of is
the brow cake in the shade Thunder. As
you surely already know, my bottle-blonde hair is quite a pale ashy shade, and
my natural brows honestly aren’t much darker.
I’ve been hunting for suitable brow products for years (having only very
recently discovered a pencil that doesn’t make me look too severe or drag-queen)
and while I’m sure this shade is one of Illamasqua’s most universal, it’s still
far too dark for me to even imagine filling my brows with. However, being a powder shade, I may well get
use of it as an eyeshadow or brown liner instead.

All in all I've found everything well pigmented and easy to apply and blend, which I don't find surprising at all from my previous experience with the brand.

Product photos and swatches below if you want to check them out:

Gleam: Mirage

Powder Blush: Hussy

Cream Pigment: Hollow

Brow Cake: Thunder

Powder Eyeshadow: Slink

Powder Eyeshadow: Dizzy

Powder Eyeshadow: Tango

Powder Eyeshdadow: Obsidian

Swatches in same order as palette arrangement

Pros:

Very good pigmentation, easy to apply and blend

The colours in the palette work well together

Brush included, and it's actually good!

Good value for money even at RRP of £45.00 - using retail prices the value of the products is £61.28 (plus the mini-brush).

Even better, at time of posting this is currently on sale at Illamasqua for £22.50 in their winter sale!!

Cons:

The packaging has a glossy finish and I don't like that it attracts fingerprints

The highlighter may be too dark for pale beauties to use in that sense, but I'm sure there are a multitude of other uses.

While Thunder is probably the most universal of Illamasqua's brow shades, it's still about fifty thousand shades too dark for me, so some may struggle to get much use out of this. Although again, it can double as a powder eyeliner or eyeshadow instead.

Ratings

*Note: Bonus points awarded for the Illamasqua brand in general, as they're a company I truly believe in and are trying to do some good in the world. From their clear Against Animal Testing policies, to the S.O.P.H.I.E. foundation, to the stand they've taken to battle the hugely uncreased price point of cosmetics in Australia, this brand does a lot that I respect. So bonus points for being an amazing company. This may make my review sound biased, but my thoughts are all my own - it just so happens that, aside from how much I like this palette and other cosmetics I've tried from Illamasqua before, it's also a brand that I can believe in and be proud to support.

So, dear readers, have you tried either of the Multi Facet Palettes, or any of Illamasqua's cosmetics? Leave a comment below with your thoughts! And check back for my review of the Aura palette!